AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable, to show them that they should always pray and never lose heart." (Luke 18: 1)

Jesus not only told us to pray. He also left us an example of prayer. We read in the Gospels that He prayed constantly. It was God in human form walking on our planet, breathing our air and still feeling the need to be in constant communion with the Father.

It was not uncommon to see Jesus praying while the disciples slept. We know that while He was in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, remove this cup from me ..." (Matthew 26:39). And when He was on the cross, His first statement was, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). Later, He prayed: "My God! My God! Why did you forsake me? "(Matthew 27:46).

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, we read that He first spoke to His Father, saying, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this because of the people who are here, so that I believe that you sent me. " (John 11: 41-42). Then he shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" (John 11:43). And that is exactly what Lazarus did.

When Jesus fed those five thousand people, we read that first He looked up to heaven and gave thanks for the five loaves and two fish that were brought to Him (see Matthew 14:19). The Bible also tells us that the children were brought to Jesus so that He could lay their hands on them and pray for them (see Matthew 19:13).

If Jesus felt the need to pray constantly, how much more should we? Pray all the time. Pray about all things. He gave us this example. We also need to be people of prayer.

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